Authorities hunt for man who hit Olympia woman with baseball bat on Chehalis Western Trail

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man who allegedly hit a woman in the back of the head with an aluminum baseball bat while she was walking along the Chehalis Western Trail on Sunday.

The Olympia woman, thought to be in her late 20s or early 30s, was taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital with about a 2.5-inch gash in her head, Sgt. Cameron Simper said.

About 4:45 p.m. Sunday, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the trail near 26th Avenue Northeast in Olympia, he said. That’s where they found the woman, who reported that she was southbound on the trail when a man approached her from behind on his bicycle and hit her in the head.

She was thought to have been struck with an aluminum baseball bat, Simper said.

After she was hit, the woman tried to catch up to the man, but by then he had ridden away, Simper said.

The man was described as in his mid-to-late 30s, with dirty blond hair and a scruffy beard. He was wearing a puffy blue coat and a green T-shirt, Simper said.

Simper said the incident appeared to be a random act of violence.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office at 360-786-5500 or Olympia/Thurston County Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

This story was originally published September 6, 2015 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Authorities hunt for man who hit Olympia woman with baseball bat on Chehalis Western Trail."